How to Make Change E.A.S.Y.

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King Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, wrote

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, –Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 NIV

We are constantly transitioning from one season to another, which led Heraclitus of Ephesus to make the famous observation:

The only thing that is constant is change.

However, I don’t think that’s entirely accurate because…

Even change changes.

Sometimes we find ourselves in seasons of rapid change and sometimes we find ourselves in seasons of slow change.

Twenty years ago, my wife and I went through a 7 year stretch in which we got married, moved 4 times, had 4 job changes, and were blessed with our first 2 children. Recently, though, we had a 7 year span with no additions or losses to our family, no moves and no job changes.

But even during those relatively stable years, things were still changing. Our kids transitioned from babies and toddlers to teens and tweens, our house and everything in it got 7 years older, the culture around us has been changing and technology has changed tremendously.

Change can be difficult

Change is especially difficult when its unexpected, we’re unwillingly forced into it, and we don’t understand it. And we tend to face unexpected, un-chosen, confusing change when we ignore small gradual changes taking place.

If I ignore the fact that my kids are teens and continue to parent them as if they are toddlers, we’re going to have big problems and big changes as a result. If I expect my air conditioner will continue to function the same now as it did 7 years ago and don’t do anything to maintain it and eventually replace it, it’s going to suddenly stop working and force a big, unexpected change.

But even the biggest changes can be made easier and sometimes even joyful if we approach them in the right way.

How to Make Change E.A.S.Y.

1) Educate – Change is always easier when we understand the change that is taking place, whether it’s changes in adolescence, culture, technology or anything else. Reading, listening to experts, discussing change with trusted friends can all help. That’s why we write “Christian Web Trends” and love to discuss how changes in technology impact our faith with you in comments and social media.

2) Accept – You know the serenity prayer… “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.” Some change is inevitable. Kids grow up, appliances break, more people will access the Internet from phones and tablets. The “wisdom to know the difference” comes from educating ourselves. And once we know and accept the change that is inevitable, we can move on to the next step…

3) Strategize – While we may not have any control over some changes, we do have control over how we prepare for them and respond to them. The better prepared we are for change, the easier (and more joyful) it can be. Strategizing also gives us some control over when, how fast and in what ways we’re going to adjust. So, it’s always better to anticipate change and prepare for it ahead of time. But in those cases where change wasn’t or couldn’t be anticipated, we can still plan our response.

4) You act. Yeah, I had to get creative to fit the anagram, but actually both words here are important. Some people respond to change by getting mad, blaming, making demands of others, hoping things will go back to the way they were or becoming bitter. After we strategize, it’s important to follow through and take action. Choose action over inaction.

To be completely honest, E.A.S.Y. is just an anagram. Following these steps does not guarantee all change will be easy. Some of life’s changes – especially those caused by sin and death – are just excruciatingly hard. But from my experience, I’ve found these steps can make change a great deal easier.

Bring it back to tech

This blog is Christian Web Trends, so let me wrap this post up by relating it to the web…

Technology changes as fast as any aspect of life. In the almost 20 years since Mark and I started OurChurch.Com we’ve gone from almost no web… to static web pages… to web builders with content management systems… to search engines… to multimedia… to social media… to mobile.

A good website fits the technology and culture of today. (Culture being the way people use technology). It’s mobile-friendly, features audio, video, and images, optimized for search, integrates with social media, and is easy to update.

If your website is not, don’t wait for change to be forced on you. I encourage you to be proactive and make the change E.A.S.Y.

If you’re using our old NE1 Website Builder, now is the time to educate yourself, accept the change that’s coming, strategize your migration to our new WP-EZ Website Builder, and act.